Drain saddle for 1-1/4" metal tailpiece

The kit for my RO system has a saddle tap for the standard PVC drain. It is too big for my 1 1/4" OD metal Kohler tailpiece for the washbasin. Where can I find a drain saddle of the right size? Google turns up dozens of hits for RO system sellers, all of which sell the same drain saddle.

You might have to improvise, as RO systems are almost always installed in the kitchen, not under the lav.

Saddle taps are notoriously troublesome sooner or later. The usual complaints are when they are used to tap into a cold water supply line for an ice maker, and for them the best solution is a tee in the supply line then into a ball valve and adapters to the ice maker supply line. I would think a similar solution would be appropriate here as well.

Also most plumbing codes do not allow for saddle connections.

drain

Get a 1 1/4" threaded branch tailpiece, used for air conditioner drains, for the drain. Connect the r/o drain to the branch opening with a dishwasher to disposer fitting and a reducer.

Gary Swart said:

Saddle taps are notoriously troublesome sooner or later. The usual complaints are when they are used to tap into a cold water supply line for an ice maker, and for them the best solution is a tee in the supply line then into a ball valve and adapters to the ice maker supply line. I would think a similar solution would be appropriate here as well.

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It's in the drain, not the supply.

jimbo said:

You might have to improvise, as RO systems are almost always installed in the kitchen, not under the lav.

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Thanks, Jimbo. Thinking about using a piece of rubber gasket sheet about 1/8" on each side of the clamp in addition to the little rubber seal that came with the saddle. What do you think?

Ed

hj said:

Get a 1 1/4" threaded branch tailpiece, used for air conditioner drains, for the drain. Connect the r/o drain to the branch opening with a dishwasher to disposer fitting and a reducer.

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Thanks. Didn't know the proper name till now. A Google found several online sources, but I may call a good plumbing store in my area if I decide to go this route. First, I'll try padding the 1 1/2 saddle with some thick rubber gasket sheet. Nothing to lose.

BTW, how would I get from the 3/8" poly tube to the 3/4" branch on the tailpiece?

Ed

SewerRatz said:

Also most plumbing codes do not allow for saddle connections.

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Even on a drain?

saddle

Padding the saddle would not be the best idea you ever had. There are many ways to increase the 3/8" drain up to the 1/2" copper tubing size of the dishwasher boot/adapter.

hj said:

There are many ways to increase the 3/8" drain up to the 1/2" copper tubing size of the dishwasher boot/adapter.

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Probably because I'm not as familiar with plumbing hardware as you, I can't think of a good one. No doubt I could cobble something together, starting with a 3/8 to 3/4 compression fitting, if there is such a thing exists, a short length of 3/4 copper tubing, and a short length of rubber hose. Or, I could simply ask for a better idea from this forum.

One aversion to this whole approach, however, is I had a devil of a time getting the tailpiece to seal when I installed it several years ago. Finally had to uses thread sealer to stop the drip, so it may be hard to get apart.

connection

I would use a sweat 1/2 x 3/8" o.d. reducer with a short piece of 1/2 copper into the "boot" and a short piece of 3/8" o.d. tubing with a 3/8" coupling to the RO drain.

hj said:

I would use a sweat 1/2 x 3/8" o.d. reducer with a short piece of 1/2 copper into the "boot" and a short piece of 3/8" o.d. tubing with a 3/8" coupling to the RO drain.

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Went to a really good plumping store today. Turns out the branched tailpiece is 3/4" at the branch. To get down to my 3/8" poly tube the counterman proposed a multidiameter rubber boot, 3/4 at the big end and 1/2" at the smaller end. Then he shoved a 3/8" compression fitting with a pipe thread of about 1/2" OD (perhaps 3/8 pipe?) into the boot. Both of us got a chuckle out of it. He said he wouldn't want it under his basin and I agreed.

Then he got out his PIP (Precision Installation Parts?) catalog and found a 1 1/4" saddle with 3/8" JG or compression fitting. Unfortunately, when he called PIP they didn't have it in stock. Don't know if it had been dropped or what. PIP did come up with a solution though: a saddle made like a hose clamp rather than the more common 2-piece plastic saddle. It is adjustable from 1 1/4 to 2". I ordered one for $8. It will take about a week to get it. I'll report back to tell how it works.

I realize the pros here don't like saddles. I agree 100% for the supply tap things, but for a drain like this I really don't see what the problem is. I have had one on my kitchen sink for well almost 14 years without a problem of any kind. I blocked it off when I went to an RO faucet without an air gap, necessitating a dishwasher air gap with a second branch for the RO. I really like it much better, but that old saddle is still on the drain pipe with no sighs of leakage.

Ed

drain

You were overly sensitive to what the tailpiece would have looked like, and I would not have any compuction against using it. Saddles are bad for pressure pipes and major drain connections, not R/O drains. It appears you are describing something like a swimming pool pipe saddle, and THAT I would not use under your sink.

hj said:

You were overly sensitive to what the tailpiece would have looked like, and I would not have any compuction against using it. Saddles are bad for pressure pipes and major drain connections, not R/O drains. It appears you are describing something like a swimming pool pipe saddle, and THAT I would not use under your sink.

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Thanks, Hj.

I doubt the tailpiece he showed me was for a swimming pool. It was on the rack amongst plumbing for residential bathrooms and kitchens. It was pretty muvh as you described, and photos I found online.

It wasn't so much the uglyness ans it was the size. The whole thing stuck out about 6-7" from the tailpiece, and things are pretty tight under there. Somebody ought to sell these systems sized for bathrooms.

I share your assessment about the saddles. For one thing, a supply tap is going to have 40-50 psi at the joint, wheres a drain has zero.

Again, thanks for the help. I need someone to talk to about these things, rahter than stumbling around. I do appreciate it. It's a great forum, and I will bookmark it.

Ed